Survivor’s On-Set Romances Have Led to 67 “Survivor Babies”

The popular reality show Survivor has not only created love stories in front of the camera, such as with Boston Rob and Amber, but also behind it. Over 50 seasons, crew members have fallen in love, married, and had children, leading to 67 so-called “Survivor babies.” Now, some of these children even live on location in Fiji at the show’s base camp while their parents work.

Jeff Probst, the show’s host and executive producer, told PEOPLE that changing the family visiting policy was the first thing he did when he took over. He explained that since the crew spends many months a year on location, he didn’t want them to have to choose between their careers and their children. Now, at any given time, there are between seven and thirteen children running around base camp.

The on-set family is apparent everywhere: high chairs in the catering hall, strollers outside of accommodations, and boats named after the children. Some of the youngsters even get involved in production, helping with wardrobe and acting as their parents’ partners. Senior producer Riley Rantfle said she realized she could have both a career and a family when she saw how supportive Probst was. Brittany Crapper, a co-executive producer and a mother of three, was afraid she would lose her job when she became pregnant for the first time, but Probst and co-executive producer Matt assured her that her job would always be there for her.

Probst says that the show has worked to make it possible for crew members to balance a career and family. Senior producer Riley Rantfle said she “wouldn’t come” if her husband, David, and their two children weren’t allowed on location. Probst credits David for being a supportive partner who takes care of the kids so that Riley can have a “massive job” and continue to work on the show.